Originally Posted by windsmith

No mileage contract is a good mileage contract, IMO.

A mileage contract can be a very good thing depending on what your pulling (van, flat, reefer) and where you are doing the work. Empty miles can really screw you over on a percentage contract. If you want to run coast to ccoast or live in a not so great freight area, a mileage contract is usually better since you will have a few hundred empty miles each week. Now if you want to run local or be home on weekends, then a percentage contract may work better, but you also have to live in the proper freight lanes or areas.

I pull a flatbed and live in the midwest. My % pay works better for me, but if I wanted to run out to the west coast every week and back, then a mileage might be better because loads coming back to the midwest are not abundant. With a van you have a lot more load options, but you also have a lot more carriers who run vans, so the rates not as good as a platform, so a mileage contract works in your favor. If you are happy with $1.50 mile on the mileage contract then who cares....

I live in KY .. The miles are roughly 2700-3100 mainly west to WY , NE , WA , OR. Some CA but not much got some east but mainly just NC , SC , and MD we do Canada also . I get home every 2 or every other weekend or I also have a deal that if I stay out 3 weeks I can take 7 -9 days off if I wanted or just go back out my choice but I just try to stay in a 2 week swing sometime it may be 16-17 days but I tell them when I want to go out , no pressure

Im also due a raise of 0.02 in bout 6 mths so my base could go up to 1.16 and we are going paperless soon and will get a premium for that I've heard anywhere from 0.02-0.03 I'm not sure though just skittle butt talk on that right now .

And your right .. Deadhead can kill your profits . You can go somewhere for 2.20 sounds great but of that's a low freight area and you have to take a 300-400 mile DH or a 50 mile DH and a 0.98 load it's not so cool no more

Originally Posted by US MARINE

I live in KY .. The miles are roughly 2700-3100 mainly west to WY , NE , WA , OR. Some CA but not much got some east but mainly just NC , SC , and MD we do Canada also . I get home every 2 or every other weekend or I also have a deal that if I stay out 3 weeks I can take 7 -9 days off if I wanted or just go back out my choice but I just try to stay in a 2 week swing sometime it may be 16-17 days but I tell them when I want to go out , no pressure

Im also due a raise of 0.02 in bout 6 mths so my base could go up to 1.16 and we are going paperless soon and will get a premium for that I've heard anywhere from 0.02-0.03 I'm not sure though just skittle butt talk on that right now .

Your on a good deal there. Thats the way my company is as well. I get home whenever I want to or need to and no pressure to go again until I am ready. Its a good thing your on, lots better than most of whats out there.

Originally Posted by kw9's rock

Your on a good deal there. Thats the way my company is as well. I get home whenever I want to or need to and no pressure to go again until I am ready. Its a good thing your on, lots better than most of whats out there.

And being a Canadian driver actually helps out, since you can't run loads intra-states. You have to go from CA to US and back to CA, which is nice so you won't have to deal with going to 12 different shippers in different states and sit around all the time.

I'm guessing you do a lot of CA to TX and back???

Originally Posted by US MARINE

I live in KY .. The miles are roughly 2700-3100 mainly west to WY , NE , WA , OR. Some CA but not much got some east but mainly just NC , SC , and MD we do Canada also . I get home every 2 or every other weekend or I also have a deal that if I stay out 3 weeks I can take 7 -9 days off if I wanted or just go back out my choice but I just try to stay in a 2 week swing sometime it may be 16-17 days but I tell them when I want to go out , no pressure

Im also due a raise of 0.02 in bout 6 mths so my base could go up to 1.16 and we are going paperless soon and will get a premium for that I've heard anywhere from 0.02-0.03 I'm not sure though just skittle butt talk on that right now .

If I had a more aero truck, that would probably be the thing I would do, but I'd insist on weekends off at least. I get burned out too fast being gone that long. I give you guys credit that go out for weeks and weeks on end.

Originally Posted by SHC

And being a Canadian driver actually helps out, since you can't run loads intra-states. You have to go from CA to US and back to CA, which is nice so you won't have to deal with going to 12 different shippers in different states and sit around all the time.

I'm guessing you do a lot of CA to TX and back???

The cabotage laws really work in our favour as far as getting home often LOL. I was doing alot of Texas runs last year but the company is now concentrating its efforts in California so been going that way consistently. We dont get back to Winnipeg as easily lately as 99 % of the produce is going into Regina now. Usually I do a multi drop grocery store run to get back to winnipeg and a couple of home days .

Originally Posted by kw9's rock

And your experience with this is what exactly? You're nothing but a blowhard wannabe that couldnt find his butt with both hands. Go back to holding your steering wheel and leave the real job of running a truck to the big boys.

u haven't been driving but a year so u need to look in the mirror first before u say something like that. i'm an ex o/o of 10 yrs; i bet i could teach u a thing or two that would blow ur mind about trucking